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Journey of Our Soul; May It Be Long and Winding

Published 2017-06-22

About a year ago I was walking in Weston Bend State Park along the Missouri River when I was caught in a downpour. Trying to get to higher ground and shelter from sudden summer rain I found myself standing on a railroad bed overlooking a bend in the river.

I was struck by the contrast of the carefully laid steel rails, which trace the shortest distance between two points, and the river that meanders, charting its own course.

Sometimes I feel like I have a ticket on a train to get me to where I think I want to be. I feel like I am making progress, moving efficiently forward toward success and security. I watch the landscape roll by, and I congratulate myself that I am making good time.

Other times (in fact as I think about it, most of the time) my journey is more river-like. It is slower than I think it should be. It meanders as challenges and blessings present themselves and demand adjustments in my best intentions to “make good time.”

I have realized that our souls are river- like. They flow from a source beyond what we can now see. They move steadily toward a destination beyond what we can understand. They take a winding path with its own mysterious logic.

Railroads are mechanical, designed for a specific task. Railroads are made by humans for human purposes. Rivers are full of life and create life as they flow. Souls are alive, moving slowly, steadily creating life as they flow. Souls are created by God for God’s purposes.

I hope that you might take a moment today to give thanks for the steady, slow journey of your soul toward the ocean of God. Here’s wishing also that you enjoy the journey of our soul; may it be be long and winding!